First Thing: Biden calls for urgent funding for Israel and Ukraine
US president says Americans must not walk away from their role as a beacon to the world'. Plus, Britney Spears details 2008 breakdown in memoir
Good morning.
Joe Biden has drawn a direct, provocative link between Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Hamas's attack on Israel as he urged Americans not to walk away from their role as a beacon to the world".
What did Biden say? Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy," said Biden, sitting at the Resolute desk with flags, family photos, gold curtains and a darkened window behind him.
What else is happening? Thirteen people, among them five children, have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Palestinian Red Crescent also said 13 people had been killed. The ministry said in a statement: The Israeli occupation army committed a massacre from Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem during its attack yesterday, with the death toll reaching 13 martyrs, among them five children."
What happened earlier yesterday? Earlier in the day, Jordan had briefly reversed course and backed a novel, bipartisan proposal to expand the authority of the temporary speaker, a position currently held by Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, for the next several months as Jordan worked to shore up support for his bid. But a group of hard-right conservatives revolted, calling the plan asinine" and arguing that it would in effect cede control of the floor to Democrats.
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